(PANAPRESS Agency,  Lome, Togo,   December 8, 2001)

The government of Togo has proposed a budget of 183,201,877,000 CFAF (over 246 million dollars) for 2002, according to an official communiqué issued in Lome.

Compared to the ending financial year, the draft budget has been increased by 11.3 billion CFAF, or 6 percent. It comes within a fairly difficult economic situation, marked by the fragility of the country's public finances.

The communiqué said more efforts should be done to boost Togo's economic growth. During 2001 the government cut down its projected budget deficit from 16.464 billion CFAF to 9 billion CFA.